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As a "policy-driven bank" whose shareholders are the member states of the EU, the EIB uses its financing operations to bring about European integration and social cohesion.

It should not be confused with the European Central Bank.

The EIB is a publicly owned international financial institution and its shareholders are the EU member states. Thus the member states set the bank's broad policy goals and oversee the two independent decision-making bodies—the board of governors and the board of directors.

It is the world's largest international public lending institution.

However, some European Commission officials were concerned.

A senior Commission official said: “This is a defence manoeuvre because Brexit is looming.

“Hoyer wants to take money from us to capitalize this subsidiary.

“He’s presenting something without having a discussion with us. This is ruffling a lot of feathers … because it’s a power grab.”

And the EU's debts are climbing. The EIB, the world’s largest multilateral bank, will still owe the UK billions of pounds for decades after the country leaves the EU, the institution’s chief said earlier this year.

Alexander Stubb, former Finnish Prime Minister, said Britain would not get its 16 per cent stake back in full until 2054.

The UK has paid £3.1 billion of taxpayers’ money into the EIB to capitalise it and allowed the bank offer loans at low rates to fund infrastructure and other projects across the EU.

Mr Stubb told reporters in October: “Everyone on both sides of the negotiating table agree that we have to pay back the 3.5 billion euro, basically in cash, and that will happen over a long period, up until 2054, because that's when the loans are amortised”.